Innocence
by Raiegki Leviathan
Summary: [one shot] Saying sorry is something that Espio isn't quite used to doing. However, when forced to apologize to a young rabbit, he finds that being humble can have its rewards. [Revised August 4, 2005]


**A/N: **One shot, cuteness. Excessive dialogue. Written on lack of sleep. Beware. Contains spoilers for the Chaotix storyline in Sonic Heroes.

**REVISION, 8/4/05: **Fixed some glaringly obvious errors and added a couple more sentences for a little more flavor. I love this story very much and intend to follow up on it soon. I just love a stuttering Espio.

Innocence 

"Man, that smarts." A bright green crocodile moaned, rubbing the back of his head. "Never knew girls could be so strong."

"That's what you get for underestimating the female gender, Vector." A purple-scaled chameleon answered, acting as if the injuries he suffered from battle didn't bother him.

"I thought girls were only good at crying and spreading cooties." Charmy, a young six-year-old bee remarked. "And what about that big cat guy? He can sure hit hard too."

"We should make amends." Vector suggested, looking over at Team Rose, sitting on the other side of the battlefield tending to their own wounds. The fight ended as a stalemate, when both teams managed to shove each other into the greenish water at the same exact time. He could see Amy lamenting her drenched clothing, Cream checking Cheese for wounds, and Big looked unaffected, used to being in water of all kinds, though he did seem a bit sad for reasons Vector could not possibly guess, though he did think it had something to do with that "Froggy" person that the cat kept asking about. "It was all a misunderstanding. They probably hate us for trying to take their chao. No need for all of us to, let's vote on who goes. I vote Espio."

"Me?" The chameleon stepped back. He was surprised and objected for two reasons: First, because he was certain there was nothing _he_ could do, except possibly provoke another fight. Second, and more importantly, he simply didn't want to do it. Whenever he didn't want to do something, there was no convincing him without a strong reason. In fact, Espio still objected to the taking of this mission from their mysterious client. The only reason he was willing to go along with it was he was an honorable chameleon, and that meant sticking to the team policy of accepting all work, as long as it pays, even though he verbally complained about what he referred to as "Vector's stupid policy" every day since the time Vector accepted a job at a local day care where too many staff members had called in sick.

"Yeah! Go, go, go, Espio!" Charmy chimed in.

"I'm no peacemaker." The purple reptile scoffed.

Vector slapped his muzzle and shook his head. He would've expected as much from the self-conceited chameleon. The crocodilian would have gone himself, but he was hurting too much from being whacked in the head by a Piko Piko Hammer, and the owner of that hammer didn't seem to like him very much. He was still seeing hearts. Charmy, despite his name, was lacking in the charm department and would no doubt make things worse, and with Espio, at least there was a tiny chance things could be better. Also, while Vector cared deeply for his comrades…better Espio than him should the pink hedgehog get violent.

"I'm not going." Espio snarled, despite Charmy's high-pitched voice begging him to do so. The reptilian shot Charmy a look of warning, but Charmy never listened to warnings and continued on harassing him. When even insect's constant nagging proved fruitless, Vector took things into his own hands.

"Charmy, move." Vector commanded, shoving the bee out of the way. He then proceeded to snatch Espio by the shoulders and forced his companion to look him in the eye. "Listen. I don't care how prideful you are. _You_ were the one who got them mad at us. Therefore, _you_ go apologize to the rabbit. And don't give me any of that ninjutsu crap of yours. Go over, and say you're sorry; it's not that hard."

Espio gave Vector a defiant look, causing the larger reptile to frown and release him. Underneath the rebellious exterior, Espio was astonished at Vector's behavior. He was not so surprised by Vector's sudden aggressiveness so much as he was shocked that the normally upbeat and kind fanged friend would get so angry over this matter that he would physically grab Espio and intimidate him. And it worked. (Though Espio would never admit he was intimidated) He knew what Vector was capable of. Despite being a very charitable person, Vector was still a crocodile and could cause some damage if he wanted to.

"We're not going anywhere until you apologize, Espio." Vector said, suddenly calm and seating himself on the ground. "If we lose our job with the client, it's going to be your fault because you were too freaking arrogant to do something as simple admit you made a mistake."

Espio opened his mouth to protest, but closed it as he saw it would do no good as Vector turned up the volume of the music in his headphones and started nodding his head to the beat and quietly singing along with the tune.

* * *

"Here comes one of them." Amy said as she saw the chameleon approach them. "Be careful, Cream. Big, if he tries anything funny, squish him." 

The large cat nodded as he gripped the handle of his fishing rod. The young rabbit hid behind Amy, her chao by her side.

"I need to speak with the rabbit." Espio said with a stern face.

"Her name is Cream." Amy snapped, one hand against her hip, the other around the handle of her hammer. "If you have something to say, you can say it in front of all of us."

"Amy…" Cream started.

"Not now, Cream. I'm getting ready to whack this guy silly." The pink hedgehog interrupted. She would show this guy who was boss. The only man she would ever submit to was Sonic, and even then, she'd force Sonic to succumb to her first.

"Amy…" Cream tried to get Amy's attention, though her calls fell upon deaf ears.

"Really, I only need to speak to Cream…" Espio tried again, losing his stoic attitude. He just wanted to get this over with.

"No, you don't." Amy huffed, lifting the hammer up and down menacingly.

"Amy…"

"Please step aside so I can talk to her."

"Talk to my hammer!" By now, Amy had mallet above her head and was ready to crack Espio's skull open.

"_Amy!_"

"What?" The pink hedgehog demanded. "What is it, Cream? I was on a roll."

"I'll talk to him." The orange rabbit said quietly.

Amy looked at Cream, then to Espio. Then she looked back to Cream, and once more to Espio.

"Alright." She shrugged, giving in. "But if you need help, Big and I are waiting."

* * *

Cream led Espio over to a secluded corner, far enough so Amy and Big couldn't hear, but close enough so she could signal them if she needed them. 

"What's your name?" She asked, sitting down.

"Espio." The fuchsia chameleon answered, mimicking the movement.

"Why did you try to take Cheese from me, Mister Espio?"

"It was…a mistake." Espio grimaced. "My friends and I…we were looking for chao lost in this jungle. We thought that yours was one of them. We didn't know he belonged to you. I didn't mean to be so…harsh asking you to turn him over to us."

Cream pondered this for a minute. Maybe she was quick to judge the Chaotix; maybe she was a bit hasty in assuming they were trying to kidnap Cheese and took Chocola. Such a misunderstanding could have been resolved peacefully, without a fight. After all, this Espio person did sound like a good guy deep inside, despite his cold exterior.

"What I'm trying to say is…I'm sorry." Espio apologized. He couldn't remember the last time he said that word. He wasn't even sure if he ever said it. Inexperienced in the art of apologizing, he wondered if she would accept his apology, or reject it, bearing a grudge against him and the other members of the Chaotix.

"Okay." Cream giggled.

_ Okay? That's all she has to say?_ Espio thought, taken aback by Cream's response. _Shouldn't she…hit me, hate me, and scream at me? I tried to take her chao, and she forgives me just like that?_

"It really wasn't your fault." Cream continued. "You were just looking for chao. If I were you, I probably would have done the same thing."

She got up and stood over him, looking down at the chameleon from above.

"You must really like chao, Mister Espio."

"Me? Well…um…" Espio stuttered.

"Do you have a chao of your own?" Cream asked.

"No…"

"You should stop by Chao Garden and get one." Cream suggested, her soft brown eyes lighting up. "We can raise chao together!"

"Together?" Espio repeated. "Like…friends?"

"Yes!" Cream laughed, nearly jumping in the air. "Friends make things more fun. I've been looking for someone to raise chao with for a while. I mean, Amy's always busy chasing after her hero, Mister Sonic, and Mister Big prefers to spend time with his frog, Froggy. Cheese and I get lonely sometimes. Right, Cheese?"

"Chao, chao!" Cheese agreed, feeding off Cream's excitement.

"See? Cheese likes you." Cream pointed out. "Maybe, sometime, after I find Chocola, we can spend some time in Chao Garden! Then you can have your own chao!"

Then the voice of a pink hedgehog drifted over to their location, beckoning for Cream to return. Amy was ready to pursue her blue hero once more.

"I gotta go now; it was really nice to meet you, Mister Espio!" Cream said. "You're a really nice person."

"You're not bad yourself, Cream." Espio smiled. Not a smirk, a genuine smile. He gave the rabbit a pat on the head. "Good luck looking for your chao."

"Bye!" Cream waved, running back to her teammates.

* * *

A knock came on the Chaotix Detective Agency's door. To Vector, this was opportunity knocking on the door. As their last job wielded little pay, the Chaotix were preparing to file a lawsuit against Eggman, and well, after the lawyer's fees, there wasn't going to be much left in their budget. So a job of any kind was welcome. He swung the door open to greet his next client. However, he was going to be sorely disappointed. The animal at the door was not there to ask to have a case done. 

"Hello, Mister Vector!" The beige rabbit child greeted. "Is Mister Espio there?"

"Uh…yeah. Sure he is." Vector nodded, slightly distressed at the lack of money to be made. At the same time, he was happy to see the little one. She was a sweet kid, and even managed to get Espio to like her. "Hey, Espio. Crawl out of your dark corner. You got a visitor."

"Hmm?" The chameleon mused, coming out of a trance-like state after leaning against a wall with closed eyes for over an hour. "Oh…Cream. Nice to see you again."

"I have to show you something! Come with me!" The rabbit said, snatching Espio's hand and dragging him away.

"Why's it that Espio's so nice to her?" Charm pouted, hovering near the crocodile's head. "He's never that nice to us…"

* * *

The rabbit had dragged her chameleon companion a long way, all the way into the Chao Garden. 

"Look!" She cried excitedly, pointing at something.

"A…chao." Espio observed, gazing at the tiny light blue creature. "It looks young."

"She is!" Cream clapped. "She needs someone to raise her. Will you do it, Mister Espio?"

"I…don't know if I'd do a good job. I don't even know how to raise a chao…"

"I'll teach you!" Cream offered. "Then we can be chao buddies!"

She took the tiny chao off the ground and deposited her in the chameleon's arms, where she promptly snuggled against his scaly chest, yawned, and fell asleep, seemingly giving Espio its approval to be raised by him.

"…Okay." Espio finally agreed. He didn't admit it, but this little creature was really starting to get to him, similar to how Cream managed to worm her way into his favor.

"Great!" Cream whispered, as to not awake the slumbering chao. "First thing you gotta do is name her."

"…Sakura." Espio decided, after thinking carefully. The little chao reminded him of the cherry blossoms that he would gaze at so often inside the city's local Japanese garden.

"Come with me. I'll teach you everything there is to know about chao." Cream said, running towards the heart of the garden, with her new chameleon friend following closely behind.

* * *

_Innocence – End_

_

* * *

_


End file.
